Interesting take, I was expecting to open the article and read something about certain positions being neglected in the draft, mis-using free agency, or waiting too long to get rid of Capers. Something of that nature...

Definitely a unique observation that it necessarily doesn't take a top WR unit to reach the Super Bowl, granted, we all too soon forget the Falcons group a couple years ago.

I feel with Adams, Allison (I'm assuming he is brought back), MVS, St. Brown, Kumerow, and Moore you can probably get by with this group under a new offensive scheme, my hope is the younger players make a leap in year two. That said I still always like bringing in a player or two to compete.

It was mentioned on the radio this morning, strong offensive line play was one reason many of the playoff teams succeeded and are in the position they are this season, these were some of the better offensive lines in the league, as opposed to grabbing a WR in the first three rounds like we seemingly do every year, you have the chance to perhaps grab an offensive linemen with 2 of your first 4 picks, unless you sign a free agent.

Now, I know are unit was ranked fairly high and a lot of us might very well disagree with our own eye test, and these rankings might be subjective, but watching the wild card teams over the weekend, all of them did a solid job protecting the QB, besides Baltimore.

OK. No to Antonio Brown, check. Other than that, really? If you have an elite QB you surround him with weapons, it's a passing league. The team record does not reflect those decisions with Rodgers being out almost an entire year and it includes this year's melt down. Cobb played out his rookie contract and was rewarded according to what he would have gotten in FA with a home team discount. Nelson played on the cheap for years and was rewarded. Sounds like a class organization looked out for their own players that fit their team.

Sure, things ran their course and some mistakes were made over the last few years. No GM has a good draft or makes a good splash in free agency every year. There should definitely be a few more playmakers on defense from the drafts and the next great GB WR in the later developmental stages.

Not needing WR'S to win a SB? Philly is loaded with weapons. They have the luxury of spreading the ball around, individual stats mean little when you have that, very bad example.

Philly, like the Rams, KC, and the Browns, have a cheap QB. It's easy to spread money around when you have a cheap QB. They have a $25m / year advantage over us. That means we need to economize. They don't.

That said, weapons are good. Since that little sh*t hunt got himself suspended, depriving Mahomes of his favorite outlet receiver, KC's average points have dropped by nearly a third. If KC doesn't win the SB, a good part of that will be because some 21 y/o punk just had to kick the drunk slut. On camera.

« Last Edit: January 15, 2019, 09:32:28 PM by marklawrence »

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“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” -- John F. Kennedy.

You mean Wolf's not surrounding Favre with decent receivers was a good idea? That investing elsewhere would lead to more wins? Agreed that overpaying at any position (except QB?) is a waste. But then again, where do you put the money? Which so you emphasize, offense or defense? And how much do you pay for a top LT? Arguably the most important player besides the QB. Notice, the writer tells us where NOT to spend money, but neglects to offer an opinion as to where the money should be spend. Maybe that will be in his next posting.

It's a different take on the same sort of perspective I have. I'm not sold on the reliance of FA to fill gaps in the roster, which Thompson actually did rather well. Thompson doesn't get any points for signing players Peppers or Woodson or the players he drafted with compensatory picks, but gets plenty of shade for all the players he didn't sign (in this case the ones he did.) I thought the real issue was not retaining certain players, and the root issue was taking the draft and develop philosophy to the extreme. Finally, due to the reliance on the draft and the increasing gap between the college game and the NFL they finally found themselves with players who weren't capable of executing a pro style offense. Which creates a bigger problem for the longevity of the NFL, IMO.

Can we really blame them for signing Cobb, Nelson, or Matthews to their deals? Post hoc reasoning only flies with me if you submit to the reality of the past. We can cite Superbowl winners and players like "Golden Tate, David Givens, Deion Branch, Qadry Ismail, Julian Edelman, Marques Colston, and Plaxico Burress" for reasoning why teams don't need top tier WRs, but the reality is those players were/are all top tier WRs. Sure they were not Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones but they were starters. I wouldn't disagree overpaying for elite WRs can be a mistake, but equating the deals Nelson and Cobb received to the mega contracts is a straw man. Let's not forget the Packers won a Superbowl with Jordy Nelson, who exploded the very next year, 2011, with 1200+ yards and 15 TDs - those are elite numbers. Greg Jennings also had a huge year in 2010, 1200+ yards and 12 TDs.

Per the article, I would disagree that WR is the least important position on the team. While teams don't need elite WRs to win football games and championships, they do need good ones. All those names listed in the article were good WRs in their own right and and some borderline elite players.

We need to draft a slot WR to pair with Rodgers for the rest of his career. Very important. Defense is the strength of UFA this year. Need to stay healthy more than anything, I don't think any team could have overcome the injuries we had this year and made a playoff run.

Philly, like the Rams, KC, and the Browns, have a cheap QB. It's easy to spread money around when you have a cheap QB. They have a $25m / year advantage over us. That means we need to economize. They don't.

That said, weapons are good. Since that little sh*t Hill got himself suspended, depriving Mahomes of his favorite outlet receiver, KC's average points have dropped by nearly a third. If KC doesn't win the SB, a good part of that will be because some 21 y/o punk just had to kick the drunk slut. On camera.

Kareem Hunt but yeah. And now Nagy is talking to him and about second chances.

Parcells, also, did not prefer to invest in WRs. Shiny hood ornament and all...

Of course, that really was a different era of football.

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The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. - Vince Lombardi

Philly, like the Rams, KC, and the Browns, have a cheap QB. It's easy to spread money around when you have a cheap QB. They have a $25m / year advantage over us. That means we need to economize. They don't.

That said, weapons are good. Since that little sh*t hunt got himself suspended, depriving Mahomes of his favorite outlet receiver, KC's average points have dropped by nearly a third. If KC doesn't win the SB, a good part of that will be because some 21 y/o punk just had to kick the drunk slut. On camera.

Didnt you just yell at me this season about being PG13, and you called her a drunk slut? Lol

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"Tradition! Just because we've always done it that way, doesn't mean that it isn't incredibly stupid."

The Chiefs, Rams, and Saints have tremendous WR options this year on the cheap.

The Chiefs have Tyreek Hill on his mid round rookie deal and Sammy Watkins having a cap hit of just $7.8 million this year, but jumping to $19.2 million next season. Hill will enter the final year of his deal next year and will certainly be looking at significant money.

The Rams have Brandin Cooks this year at $5.4 million, before inflating up to $15.3 million next season. Robert Woods comes in this year with a modest hit of $7.0 million and dropping to $5.5 million next season. He's looking severely underpaid and is signed through the end of the 2021 season.

Then there are the Saints having to only count $1.4 million on the books for Michael Thomas who is still on the rookie contract next season.

If having good WR's on the cheap(relative) is a major factor, the Packers could be in good shape going forward. With Cobb off the books, the Packers fall right into line money wise with these teams with overall WR spending. Allison would add $2-3 million when/if he's offered a RFA tender. He was on pace for a really good season before he was hurt. Assuming MVS and ESB can round out their games and become a little more consistent, those 3 should provide a solid WR core (along with Adams & Kumerow) at a cost that's no higher than middle of the road for team WR spending. The key will be to capitalize on it and fill key short term holes.

They've hit on some playmakers, studs, and contributors who are still on their rookie deals. A. Jones, Alexander, Clark, maybe Fackrell, Martinez, maybe a WR. Those are all vital positions and they have the LT, C, and QB in place. The time is right now to make a push, be aggressive with free agency and trades.

I think that the decision was correct on Jordy, although it was tough to see. Will be a bit difficult to see Cobb leave too but I support it. Somehow, that relationship needs to be built with the new guys. That being said, if the new offense has a strict design/scheme and thereby creates separation then less experienced players should still be able to produce. Just put the ball on the money.

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The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. - Vince Lombardi

It could be argued that TT's big mistake was hiring MM rather than Sean Payton. But then again, hindsight is always 20/20; and, of course, hindsight changes with the political/social whims of the times. If Cobb had been allowed to walk, and done well with another team (ala Hayward), we'd still be pointing that out as a big mistake. Its all relative.

It could be argued that TT's big mistake was hiring MM rather than Sean Payton. But then again, hindsight is always 20/20; and, of course, hindsight changes with the political/social whims of the times. If Cobb had been allowed to walk, and done well with another team (ala Hayward), we'd still be pointing that out as a big mistake. Its all relative.

I know that MM was said to be the pick at HC because of his history in GB. I also know that SP reportedly preferred NO. That being said, we know how both teams, and candidates, work the press as one, or the other, loses interest in the job/hire. I doubt that we will ever know if SP was actually preferred by GB or if he preferred NO.

One thing we do know, SP evolved his offense over time. His use of Hill proves this. Separately, It appears that TT greatly emasculated MM by ruling GB with an iron fist. Players noticed this. MM had difficulty holding the team accountable because he could not hold tough practices, play key players in pre-season, call players out etc. He lost his authority.

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The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. - Vince Lombardi